Wilmington Man Pleads Guilty to Receipt of Child Pornography
| U.S. Attorney’s Office May 01, 2009 |
Steven M. Kaminski, age 34, of Wilmington, Delaware, pled guilty yesterday to receiving child pornography, in violation of federal law. David C. Weiss, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced the guilty plea following a hearing in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware.
Kaminski, who will be sentenced on August 11, 2009 by United States District Judge Sue L. Robinson, faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of twenty years in prison. Kaminski also faces a term of supervised release following his prison sentence of five years to life, and will be required to register as a sex offender in any jurisdiction in which he lives, works, or attends school. Kaminski will remain detained pending sentencing.
According to statements made at today’s hearing and documents filed in court, Kaminski was identified by an FBI agent and an FBI Task Force Officer who were conducting separate online searches for individuals who were sharing images of child pornography using peer-to-peer software. The FBI agent was based in Oklahoma City, and the Task Force Officer was based in Peoria, Illinois. On February 4, 2009, the FBI and the Delaware State Police executed a search warrant at Kaminski’s Wilmington residence. They seized computer equipment that was found to contain numerous images of child pornography depicting prepubescent females engaged in graphic sex acts with adult males. Kaminski admitted that he had been searching for and viewing images of child pornography on his home computer for approximately ten years. Kaminski stated that in more recent years, he used Google and peer to peer software to collect child pornography.
Following the plea hearing, Acting United States Attorney David C. Weiss stated, “Increasingly, those attracted to child pornography are obtaining it and sharing it with one another by using peer to peer technology. When we identify them, they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the High Technology Crimes Unit of the Delaware State Police. For further information, please contact Assistant United States Attorney Edward J. McAndrew at 302-573-6277, ext. 130.